The Magic of Paris on Foot

Paris is a bon vivant, strolling through cobbled streets with an air of nonchalance, sprinkling fairy dust in its wake. It inspires and awes, never taking itself too seriously, always willing you to discover more but never quite enough. The only fear I had on my flight was that I might find it overrated – that all those years of fantasising about the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Élysées might prove to be a cliché in real life. I was wrong. Despite everything it had to live up to, it did not disappoint.

We set out without a plan, hoping to see as much of the city in a day as possible. How it turned out was nothing less than magical. Never have I walked as much as I did on that day with not a care in the world. There’s just something in the air that energises you and keeps you going, helping you discover stamina you never knew you had. Paree took us in and nudged us in the right direction, setting out a route that showed us its iconic sights, past the gurgling Siene and through quiet neighbourhoods none of the guidebooks would have thought to list on their pages.

Here’s a pictorial review of our route, in case you decide to follow in our footsteps (literally!). The starting point of this walking tour was the Quai de Montebello.

A view of the Notre Dame Cathedral in the background from the Quai de Montebello.Strolling on to Île de la Cité where the Notre Dame Cathedral is located for a closer look. The Île de la Cité is in actuality an island though it’s difficult to tell!Quick stop at Shakespeare and Company to browse through books (how does one resist?!)Along the Siene and then across it on Pont Neuf (the oldest standing bridge in Paris).While Pont Des Arts is considered the main love-lock bridge (or used to before Paris city officials started removing the padlocks), Pont Neuf had it’s fair share of love-locks too. The padlocks are meant to symbolize love and have become a tradition followed by couples visiting Paris. P.S: This photo was captured mid-pose!

Next stop on this very much unguided walking tour: The Louvre – the world’s largest museum where the famed Mona Lisa is on display and where my very unsuccessful attempt to hold a glass pyramid took place.Made our way through Musée du Louvre to the other side emerging into the Tuileries Garden. With the failed attempt to hold the glass pyramid still fresh in my mind, here I attempted to hold The Tiber – a statue discovered in 1512 where the Roman river TIber appears as a traditional river-god.This 1896 marble sculpture by Henri Vidal is entitled “Cain coming from having killed his brother Abel”. Oh, and there’s me from having murdered my feet.After consuming an ice cream cone while soaking in the lush, green sights of the Tuileries Garden, we ambled into the octagonal Place de la Concorde – the largest public square in Paris.Oh look, it’s Cleopatra’s Needle! Also called the Luxor Obelisk, this column is 3000 years old. And yes, that’s the Eiffel Tower in the distance!Wandered onto the Champs-Élysées. By now, the feet were just about done protesting and insisted that we take a break to satisfy our hunger and provide them some much-needed relief. Oh, and that’s a designer store up there, I forget which one.There it is in the background, the Arc de Triomphe.With this part of Paris covered, we now began our journey towards the Eiffel Tower. And made it! Sat in the grass and ate tiny jars of Nutella while staring at in absolute wonder. Yep, that’s my silhouette at the bottom.Wrapped up the day at this random carousel in Montmartre that caught our fancy.

Such a wonderful walk you had! I should have done this, too, but I opted for a “bateau-bus” instead of walking. Will try going on foot the next time. Your photos made me want to go back to Paris asap 🙂

Very nice photos of one of my favorite cities! We went there in September last year and walked almost exactly the same route. Did you go all the way up to the Eiffel tower? The view is magnificent! Thanks for sharing, I will subscribe for future posts 🙂

I have never been to Paris but I hope to make it there this year. I have heard that it’s a huge city, you were very brave to walk it. The architecture of the city is very romantic and it looks like the weather was on your side as well. Did you ride the carousel in the end? I love riding them, I don’t think it’s for kids only. 🙂

It was too many years ago when I visited Paris, as a couple we’ve wanted to go on several occasions, however, being Spanish and for a while living in Spain “it was so close” we decided to go somewhere else. Now in the other half of the world, it is too far away! I love how you just stroll around and experience the city at your own pace without missing “anything” Thanks for sharing